Business Strategy Manual

By Bolutife Oluwadele

Business Intelligence Manual is an engaging compilation of essential business tips based on the author's years of practice and experience. It is a book specifically designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other businesses seeking to optimize their performance and make informed decisions. With practical examples and case studies, the book aims to equip business owners with the knowledge and skills necessary to harness the power of data and transform it into actionable business intelligence. From identifying market trends to evaluating customer behaviour, Business Intelligence Manual is a valuable resource for SMEs looking to stay competitive in today's data-driven business landscape.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bolutife Oluwadele is a multidisciplinary public policy and administration scholar, an accomplished Chartered Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Business/General Management Consultant, and a distinguished Trainer.

He holds a Ph.D. and Master of Public Administration (with Distinction) in Public Policy and Administration from Walden University, USA, and another Master of Science degree in Corporate Governance from Leeds Beckett University, England.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bolutife Oluwadele
• Release date: Oct 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9789786021140

Book preview

BUSINESS

STRATEGY

MANUAL

BUSINESS

STRATEGY

MANUAL

Bolutife Oluwadele, Phd

Copyright © Bolutife Oluwadele, 2023

Bolutife Oluwadele asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this book.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission, except for brief quotations in books and critical reviews. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this publication may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN: 978-978-60211-4-0

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Printed and bound in Nigeria by Noirledge Limited

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the glory of God and Elder Jola Odetola, the man whose intervention rescued me at the point of committing suicide in 1988.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my family again, who indulged me during my writing sessions. To my darling wife, Mrs. Oluchi Oluwadele, the indefatigable 'Headmistress.' I refer to you as 'Headmistress' as a token of our appreciation on behalf of the boys for your motherly care to us. To Erioluwa, Tumininu, and Adeogo, you are well appreciated. Wale Soluade is a man who respectfully does things for me without complaining. God bless you. To Dr. Ifeoma Ana, my beloved Egbon, I am grateful our paths crossed in life's journey.

I thank Mrs. Adeola Sotande, who first encouraged me to write this book based on the quality of such lectures on YouTube. Thank you, Mrs. Yemisi Adebayo. Your quality advice changed the course of writing this book.

In my accounting professional journey, I am immensely grateful to Elder Jola Odetola, the late Mr. Ajimati of blessed memory, Abdullahi Ohiomah, Adewale Adedeji, Pastor Sunday Fadare, and others, too many to mention here.

My wholehearted indebtedness to a revered senior professional colleague, Deacon Solomon Adeleke, who agreed to write a forward to the book at short notice. Dr. Stephen Ogidan for motivating me to become the modest writer I have been. Paul Fadumo, Timilehin Oguntuyaki, and Sunkanmi Olaogun are my trusted team members.

To all Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Canada District and Society members, the ICAN at large. I exceptionally thank Messers Ibukun Aruleba, Kola Oladimeji, Abiola Oseni, Blessing Familusi, Olusegun Akeredolu, Samuel Olanloye, Samuel Aderemi, Abiodun Adebisi, Alh.

Waheed Makanjuola, Mrs. Bose Baggott, Mrs. Deborah Apesinola, Mrs. Anita Asamudo, my beloved Mrs. Elizabeth Ajibola, Mrs. Ada Kelani, Mrs. Seyi Owolabi, Mrs. Kemi Jegede, Mrs. Ayodele Odetunde, Mrs. Stella Okoh, Mrs. Yinka Yusuf (USA) and all other professional colleagues. I am grateful to you all.

I also want to express appreciation to Goke Ilesanmi, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, for editing the manuscript to make this book a reality.

Foreword

Business Strategy Manual is dedicated to assisting entrepreneurs' in running successful businesses and getting to grips with the nitty gritty of what to do. Starting from the need to consider the legal form the business is to take; whether a sole proprietorship, a partnership of two or more parties agreeing to collaborate to run an enterprise with an intent of profitmaking or a limited liability company, giving the business a legal personality different from its promoters and owners.

Small and medium sized enterprises form the bedrock of many economies with the USA identifying such entities as forming 98% of businesses in the country providing jobs for millions of people. Such is the importance of SMEs especially to developing countries. Therefore, this manual comes very handy as a guidebook for understanding what setting up a successful business entails.

SMEs are also vehicles for promoting innovation with many countries seeing the need to invest in their development through schemes that enable them access capital affordably, get low interest loans for financing expansion etc. This indeed is one of the major handicaps for SMEs which the manual provides useful insight on.

One of the undoing of small business owners is not separating their personal financial matters from those of the business and thus ruining the operational viability of the enterprise. Useful advice is given in the manual on the need to open separate bank account for the business and keeping adequate record of transactions in a manner to help track performance and get to appraise how well the business is doing.

Believe it or not, there are parties other than the owners of the business who are stakeholders and who will be interested in gauging its operational efficiency and the safety of their dealings with it. Such stakeholders include banks who grant long and short-term credit to the business, creditors who supply goods and services to the entity on credit, employees, and prospective ones as well as government to whom taxes are paid for the public services they render. All these stakeholders need financial information about the enterprise which makes it incumbent on the management to arrange for the production of accounts of its stewardship.

This calls for the need for an arrangement for adequate record keeping and of course the engagement of external consultants who can help with this as the enterprise may not have the financial capacity to have in-house finance personnel to help with this. Copious advice was given in the book for the engagement of external consultants such as auditors and tax advisers who can help entrepreneurs deal with this vital function in the running of their businesses. Government requires regular and timely filing of tax returns some of which are monthly whilst others are annual. Defaulting in this responsibility affects the operational efficiency of the entity with avoidable penalties and fines from the regulatory authorities.

The manual further gives useful insights on the importance of well trained and talented personnel, motivated through adequate training and competitive remunerations so they can give their best in promoting the vision of the promoters of the business. If the employees see that they are valued and have a stake in the future of the entity, they will give it their best. Unfortunately, many business owners make a mistake of seeing their human resource as only an item in their cost structure and not as one of the keys to the success of the company's business.

Budgetary control as a veritable tool in business management was also aptly discussed in the manual emphasizing the opportunity it affords for the vision of the owners to be translated into annual plans that challenge operators as to what the company sets out to achieve and thus provides the opportunity for periodic appraisal of performance against set benchmarks so that necessary corrective actions can be taken proactively before it is too late.

Other issues like cost control to enhance operational performance and credit control as a tool for boosting customer patronage and of course the development of brand loyalty which gives a good share of the market through the maintenance of good quality product and customer service were also discussed. The drive of management for quality and excellence in the marketplace always striving to improve lies at the heart of successful business management.

Finally, the need for the institution of good internal control system is a sine qua non for the successful management of businesses in this age of technology where fraud can easily go unnoticed without a good system in place to checkmate it. System development in an IT environment should be given top management attention in order to ensure that all loopholes that could be exploited are plugged.

It is hoped that many would be entrepreneurs out there will find the principles enunciated in this Business Strategy Manual, essentially a dossier of the author's own management experience, handy in their bid to start small and grow their businesses to household names like others such as Starbucks which started as a single coffee shop in Seattle Pike market that developed into a worldwide brand with shops and franchises in several countries worldwide.

— Deacon Solomon O. Adeleke FCA

Introduction

Acritical assessment of the business environment today confirms high mortality rate of businesses, largely due to ignorance of what effective business management entails. This book, therefore, offers the necessary professional guide regarding how to avoid such pitfalls and proffers long-lasting solutions to the series of crises that businesses grapple with today.

The absolute truth is that running a successful business requires following a definite professional process and can be very challenging. But it is unfortunate that most people set up businesses today out of ignorance, the only thing they have is a desire to also be a business owner. It is important to avoid taking a plunge into the business river without knowledge of its depth, just because others are making a dive into it. You need to do a thorough feasibility study for any business you want to run.

You need to do business appraisal as an important component before starting your business. Even while in business if you ever consider investing or diversifying to another business or project, you need to do simple project appraisal to determine which business you should embark on.

Often times, people also decide to set up businesses as a result of loss of jobs, retirement from employment, idleness or the inordinate desire to have an extra source of income. The fact remains that any business that is not set up to solve a problem is not actually a business.

Therefore, as a prospective entrepreneur, you should only set up a business after you have identified an emergent problem that you want to solve or a need that you want to meet.

To achieve success in business, you need to consider the type of business you want to run based on your financial capacity, expertise, experience, and other critical factors. You will decide if you want to set up a Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or Limited Liability Company.

Also, you need to think about raising seed money for your business. That is, whether you want to utilise your savings, borrow funds from individuals, money from a cooperative society, etc.

As you run your business, you must also embark on status assessment because it is necessary to check the health status of your business at intervals. You must try to find out if you are speaking the right language of your business.

Running a business requires a lot of patience. It is like a baby that you have to nurture to some level of maturity before you begin to benefit from the efforts you have invested.

For your business to stay ahead of competition and be successful, you also need to have good strategy. That is, a